story of my chinese visa

barely got out meeting to make the visa appointment, cant find the place, stranger points the place out, visa officer says my photo isn't printed on photo paper (i used photo printer glossy paper), points me to photo booth, £5 for 5 pictures (very expensive), i dont have change, leave to get cash, decide i'll reprint mine on a photo kiosk, ask a storekeep, gives a recommendation, i follow, i decide to go into boots to take a look, found it, kiosk doesnt connect online, luckily i emailed my photo to my mom to check out, ask guy with camera to take picture for me and print there, unfortuantley camera broke, i need a internet cafe i have a usb and sd card in my bag, next door is a curry's (bestbuy), one computer is not in demo mode, i put sd card in, sales rep comes over ask what i'm doing, i explain, he is friendly but says computers dont connect to internet, luckily i have mifi, turn it on, get pic put on my sd card, go to boots, cant be read, i go back to currys and tell him didnt work, luckily i still have my pic on computer, save it as jpeg again, save as tiff, save as tiff and back to jpeg, and put all of them on my sd card, go back to boots, one of them works, print it, pay, run back to visa office, cut it out, give it to person, told to come back on tuesday to pick up.

This needs to be done

http://www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk/



http://www.flyingadverts.co.uk/balloonevents.htm

Population Trends for Top 10 Largest Countries in the World

Population of Countries

USA is growing super fast compared to Canada and Europe. Don't know why French economy larger than UK when population not even that big.



Just some interesting curves of some interesting countries.



Comparing some of the largest countries in the world.

Barry Farber: Make the Sale

Want the Sale? Bring the Energy

Discover the correlation between the aura you project and your sales success.

By Barry Farber | August 6, 2010

How important do you think your attitude is to the sale? And I'm not just talking about a positive attitude alone. I'm talking about a presence that's fired up with enthusiasm and passion for what you do. It's having the physical and mental energy to keep on going after many people would give up and go home. It's how you move, how you approach another person, it's in your handshake and how you stand and face the person. Your energy can make or break the sales call.

When you call on a customer with energy and enthusiasm, it means that you believe in your product or service, and are excited about what you have to offer your customer. This isn't bravado; a sincere belief in yourself and your product can't be faked. You don't have to take my word for it; these are comments from real customers:

• "A sales person needs to stimulate me into buying his products. He needs some energy, some enthusiasm, some pizzazz."
  
• "My favorite rep is incredibly energetic and enthusiastic. She does her job really well and she makes me feel good at the same time."

Here are some key points to keep in mind about the correlation between energy and your overall success:

• Energy = motivation: William Clements, the former governor of Texas, told me, "Energy is the secret to everything. You can be a person of great integrity, character and all these other wonderful things, but if you don't really put your shoulder to the wheel, so to speak, and start pushing, you're not going to get to first base."
  
• Top sellers are pro-active, not reactive: When you look at high achievers in any field, the first thing you'll notice is their high energy. They are pro-active personalities; these people make things happen instead of sitting back and waiting for things to happen to them. They have a positive attitude--based on a belief in themselves and their abilities--which keeps them going even when they encounter rejection and setbacks. If you're wondering how you can maintain your positive attitude, try these energy action steps:

1. Appreciate the good. We need to remind ourselves to focus on the positive. Sometimes we get so bogged down by the things that are "wrong" in our lives that we forget to be grateful for the things we have that are right. Every so often, take a step back and look at everything you've achieved so far. Celebrate how far you've come, without worrying about how much there still is to do. As the late, great Earl Nightingale said, "We become what we think about all day long."
   
2. Increase your physical activity level. Physical activity--whether it's a sport, a workout at the gym or a brisk walk around the block--revitalizes and regenerates us in body and mind.
   
3. Fish for compliments. When you feel like your attitude needs a check up from the neck up, and all else has failed, call some of your satisfied customers to hear their positive comments about their experience. This not only keeps you pumped but keeps the relationship strong by staying in touch.

Energy, enthusiasm and a positive attitude can go a long way in forging long-lasting customer relationships. We sometimes underestimate the power of our attitudes and energy level when making sales calls. And your customersappreciate your positive approach more than you realize.

lobster price index

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Maine's lobstermen are working harder for less, as demand drops for their expanding harvest.

Lobstermen pulled in a robust 76.3 million pounds in 2009, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. That's the largest harvest in years, according to state records and estimates, but only in terms of volume.

Lapointe said the price of lobster managed to "claw its way" back to a range of $2.75 to $3 per pound in 2009, after slumping to $2 to $2.50 in the fall of 2008. That pales in comparison to five years ago, he said, when lobstermen were getting $4 to $4.50 per pound.

Lobstering is an essential part of Maine's economy, he said, providing about $500 million in annual revenue to coastal communities. He said the tourism industry has managed to hold up, despite the recession, but visitors to Maine only account for one-sixth of lobster purchases.

Lapointe said cruise ships, which are traditionally among the largest consumers of lobsters, are cutting back on their purchases and this has been painful for lobstermen.

"They are certainly in a financial squeeze right now," he said. "When they fish harder, they use more bait and more fuel, and those are huge costs for them."

Lapointe said fuel cost is consuming as much as 40% of a lobsterman's take, up from 10% to 15% in recent years.

More lobsters, less money

David Cousins, president of the Maine Lobstermen's Association and a lobsterman for 42 years, said the 2009 harvest was the biggest since the early 1990s, when the annual take peaked at an estimated 100 million pounds. But that is little comfort, considering the dropping prices and increasing costs.

"Our business is based on a $4 dollar-plus lobster [per pound]," said Cousins. "When you're getting $2.90 a pound, you're going the wrong way and it just doesn't work anymore.

The cost of Atlantic herring, an abundant fish used as bait in lobster traps, jumped to a range of 25 to 30 cents per pound from 3 cents in the mid-1990s, said Cousins. The cost of bait now consumes 20% of gross revenue for lobstermen, compared to 2% in mid-1990s, he said.

"Our [net] income has dropped by 35% to 40%, and sometimes 50%, because of increased cost of fuel and increased cost of bait," Cousins said.

This spells trouble for the industry and some lobstermen have lost their boats to bank foreclosures, he said.

"There are a lot of people who are in serious trouble up here, because they have a lot of money out on their business - they owe for boats and traps and houses and trucks and all that," Cousins said.

But getting out of this hardscrabble business isn't much of an option for most lobstermen, despite its difficulties, he added.

"People are hanging on as long as they can, because there aren't any jobs any more," Cousins said.

Unemployment rate USA

Google Checkout Send me a copy of this email Not working

There seems to be a bug with google checkout in that it sends an invoice to gmail accounts, but doesn't provide you a copy of the invoice even when you have checked "Send me a copy of this email"

The Copy Me worked when I tested it with my me account. Maybe this is a temporary issue. After all youtube was down for a while today...

Gmail account disabled permanently

Has anyone else had their gmail account revoked for being too awesome? I had mine revoked about a year ago but suddenly thought about it and am very pissed.

The reason? Because they can.

I can only guess they are going to launch a product called ....

Google Accounts: I'm getting a message that says 'Sorry, your account has been disabled.'

Print

If you've been redirected to this page from the sign in page, it means that access to your Google Account has been disabled.

In most cases, accounts are disabled because of a perceived violation of either the Google Terms of Service or product-specific Terms of Service.

Google reserves the right to:

• Suspend a Google Account from using a particular product or the entire Google Accounts system if the Terms of Service or product-specific policies are violated.
• Terminate your account at any time, for any reason, with or without notice.

If your Google Account has been disabled, please review the relevant Terms of Service before attempting to create another account. For guidelines on a specific Google product, please visit the product homepage for a link to its Terms of Service.

UPDATE GOT MY EMAIL BACK ! YAY!